The Humblebee

Arctic Bumblebee (Bombus polaris)
From Shakespeare through to Darwin they were known as "humblebees", because of the humming sound they make. Then in the 20th century, for some reason, they became "bumblebees".


Tierra Del Fuego Bumblebee (Bombus igneous)
Not a good photo yet the best I could find!
I saw many of these huge bumblebees, on the Straits of Magellan Islets, foraging amongst fuchsia blooms.

  Bumblebees do not store food (honey) to survive winter. The little food they do store serves as a reserve meant for feeding the larvae and the egg-producing queen or it is used to survive cold, windy and rainy days. Just like in social wasps the whole colony dies at the end of the season, usually in late summer or autumn. The new queens seek for a place to hibernate.  Most Bumblebee colonies count about 50 to 150 animals. Only the Earth Bumblebee may have richly populated nests in which you find 200 up to 600 individuals.